The term 'white privilege' insults white people, Tory MP tells LBC

21 October 2020, 16:03

The term "white privilege" insults white people, Tory MP tells LBC

The term 'white privilege' insults white people, a Conservative MP and Chair of the Education Select Committee has said.

Robert Halfon, the Conservative MP for Harlow, made the comment to LBC's Nick Ferrari on the same day that Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch said the Government doesn't want children being taught about “white privilege and their inherited racial guilt”.

The Equalities Minister also told the House of Commons that schools are under a statutory duty to stay politically impartial and not openly support “the anti-capitalist Black Lives Matter group”.

Mr Halfon told LBC: "I think this term 'white privilege' is a wrong term to use, not just in schools but I think it is wrong across the board. It insults white people.

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"There are many people from white disadvantaged backgrounds, many children on free school meals, who struggle. They have much lower levels of attainment than many other ethnic groups.

"All the way through the school system, white working-class boys from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to go to university as well.

"To say that these people, who often live in poor-quality housing and have lower levels of attainment, that they are part of 'white privilege'...is an insult to those individuals who have been left behind by the system."

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In his exchange with Nick, the Chair of the Education Select Committee also referred to Martin Luther King Jr as he said "we should judge people by the content of their character".

The Conservative MP did, however, disagree with the proposition that the country's educational system represents a level playing field irrespective of one's skin colour.